Movies We Watched

Sometimes we watch stuff that we want to talk just a little bit about, not a full review worth. These are those films. If any of the films reviewed are available on Netflix Instant Watch (US or Canada) or HuluPlus (US only), we’ll note that by putting a direct link below the capsule.

Stalker

Stalker asks the big questions by asking why we ask the big questions. A film this dry and humourless (but ultimately, quite hilarious) could only be made in Russia. It bleakly proposes that art, science and religion are all male dodges to responsibilities at home, which I guess questions the very nature of why the film itself exists. I’d say this is ripe for a SCTV or Monty Python parody, but I guess, The Meaning of Life kinda covers some of the bases. Ultimately, it’s doom and gloom (pre-Chernobyl in the same way Fight Club is pre-9/11) premise says to me, “It’s not the end of the world, it’s just the end of the fuckin’ day.” (Apologies to Tony Burgess, and Pontypool for that…)-KURT

Intolerable Cruelty

Some would classify Intolerable Cruelty as a minor Coen Brothers work and I suppose that actually would be accurate. But as often stated, lesser Coen Brothers is better than 90% of the shit out there. And this movie is solid solid solid. Even with all the cliche tropes of conventional movie making (slow claps, fingers on the lips, etc.) the Coens somehow manage to make it their own and everything in here is goofy fun with pure magic backing it up. George Clooney recently gave the “performance of a lifetime” in The Descendants, but damn if his turns in Coen films aren’t right on the heels of that performance. He knows exactly how to ham it up for the camera and he is outright hilarious here. All of the side characters are of almost equal charm and hilarity – gotta love Billy-Bob as the paper-eating oil man. The story feels predictable but mysterious at the same time and every moment feels fresh and new – even though you’ve seen it before. The Coens have stuck with the same DP and set decorator since Miller’s Crossing, and even though this one is a bit brighter and glossier than their other works, these attributes of the movie stand tall. In short, fantastic Friday night date movie that everyone should love. If you don’t love it, we’re divorced.– ANDREW

Le Cercle Rouge

Not oozing quite as much cool as the other Melville film I’ve seen (Le Samurai), but it still works on many levels. Though Delon still exhudes cool, he’s a little corny with that fake mustache. I also didn’t care too much for the final 15 minutes or so and thought it kind of ram-shackled together and didn’t even make a whole lot of sense at first glance. Still, the first hour or so is filled to the brim with spectacular and simply “cool” looking shots. The heist itself is pretty riveting and fascinating to watch as almost the whole thing is done in complete silence. An enjoyable heist film that has lots going for it, but I wasn’t quite as blown away by it as I had hoped.– ANDREW

(USA)

Persona

1966. Director: Ingmar Bergman. Starring: Liv Ullmann, Bibi Anderson.

My introduction to Ingmar Bergman came by way of one of his more experimental films: Persona. In retrospect, it is unfortunate that I started with this film as it distorted my view of Bergman for over a decade; I could not shake the association of his name with the kind of pretentious filmmaking styles that pops up in perfume commercials. Eventually I found the other Bergman, the high dramatist Bergman, who goes for the jugular in his attempt to ferret out the innermost desires plaguing human beings. This Bergman I love. It had been over a decade since I last watched Persona, and seeing it again, I realize how better equipped and tolerant I have become of unconventional storytelling and abstract stylistics turns. In the interim, I have come to embrace the earnest efforts of Malick and Lynch, and Bergman (in Persona at least) is playing in that same sandbox; in fact, watching Persona this time I was struck by how clearly it was an inspiration for David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr, not only because of the similar stories (psychosis blurring the divisions between two women, one statuesque supermodel actress, the other innocent short-haired blonde) but even shots are reminiscent. I think this is even carried over in INLAND EMPIRE (the rabbits-in-suits set feels a lot like the hospital room set that Liv Ullmann stands ominously in watching the tv). Persona is still not one of my favorite Bergman films but I do now appreciate it a great deal. The extended dialogue scenes with Bibi Anderson just losing herself in confession as Liv Ullmann looks stoically on are mesmerizing to watch. I still find some of the book-end elements a bit exhausting but there is some powerful interactions between the two characters in the middle of it to warrant four stars.-MIKE

(USA)

Mildred Pierce

This was a very strange mini-series, and one I find almost impossible to pinpoint a star rating for because in the ways it works, it works phenomenally (visually the entire five hours are a work of art), but in the ways it falls flat, it really falls flat (unsatisfying story, virtually no character development). It has stuck in my head though, when the tragedy finally, finally happens it is suitably uncomfortable and jarring. But so much of the series is rich people being rich people, and in no rush to tell a story, just bask in the beauty Haynes and the cinematographer can piece together. The central character, Mildred Pierce, is a hard character to feel for as the series develops, but I feel that you are supposed to. The relationship between her and her daughter, Vida, is fascinating in a kind of We Need to Talk About Kevin bad parenting experience way, but I just wish there were more peaks and valleys and not this one-note message.-MIKE

The Ballad of Narayama

A cultural manifesto, of sorts, The Ballad of Narayama touches upon the horrors of desperation, and the toll that need to be strong and hardy takes on the human condition. While it is not quite a survival of the fittest tale, it does serve as a revelation with respect to what must be done in order to preserve both oneself and one’s family. The film is, in short, oftentimes quite terrifying. However, it is as beautiful as it is cruel, and, at times, quite hopeful. The pacing is a bit lackadaisical at times, and meandering at others, but once Immamura hits his stride the film’s rising action is remarkable – and the climax is nothing short of breathtaking.-DOMENIC

Forty Guns

Forty Guns is perhaps the most surreal, theatrical Western that I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. In actuality, it is only truly distinguished from film noir by its setting, as well as Fuller’s utilization of most of the well-known trappings associated with Westerns. At its core, Forty Guns is something of an examination of sexuality (on the strength of Stanwyck’s greatest performance), but it also relies heavily on hectic deviations from the expected. That may not appear to be a true characteristic, but it is an idiosyncrasy without which the film would not exist. It is a film that cannot be encapsulated by any one theme or standard, yet it is endlessly entertaining and incredibly profound. I highly recommend this for most anyone, particularly fans of Westerns and surrealism … and, perhaps, satire, as it would not surprise me if Fuller was merely attempting to pull a fast one over the viewer.-DOMENIC

19 Comments

Although I’ve not seen it since it’s release, I’m with you on Intolerable Cruelty Andrew. I enjoyed it enough as a breezy comedy. It had enough great moments and performances in it to lift it above most romantic comedies out there.

And Domenic, I loved Ballad of Narayama – I saw it last year (there’s a review up here somewhere) and it blew me away. I’ve been reviewing a lot of Imamura’s work through the Masters of Cinema who seem to be working their way through most of his back catalogue. I just watched Insect Woman last night which was very good, look out for a review soon. Narayama is my favourite of his films so far though, it just had more of an emotional impact on top of everything else, mostly down to that staggeringly good final 45 mins.

Narayama is brilliant and possibly my favourite Imamura as well (though The Eel and Vengeance Is Mine are close – wait, haven’t we discussed this recently?).

Nice pick with Forty Guns Domenic! I’m gaga for just about anything with Stanwyck, but if you mix her with Fuller in that Western setting, I’m over the moon.

Though Intolerable Cruelty is close to the bottom of my list of favourite Coen Brothers films, I still enjoy it a great deal – particularly after I saw it a second time.

But Andrew, I think you made a typo in your rating of Le Cercle Rouge – you wrote 4/5 but OBVIOUSLY you meant 5/5. I can change that for you…And if you like that heist, make sure you check out Rififi with its own 30 minute silent heist sequence. Le Cercle was made after and was essentially Melville trying to out do Rififi.

Mike, Persona is at the top of my Bergman list – mesmerizing is indeed the proper term for some of Bibi’s monologue’s. As many have said, her description of that beach rendezvous is one of the all-time greatest erotic moments in film.

And you are so right about Domino – I had heard it was actually fun and broke the rule I had set to avoid Tony Scott films. Quite terrible and Knightley is phenomenally bad (or at least the choices the filmmakers made for how she should play the character were). Ugh.

Bob, I take it you are not on Letterboxd? Domino thread going strong there. Apparently Kurt and Andrew like it.

And I am trying to watch everything by Bergman that I can find, and I guess once I have done that I will have a better idea if Persona is nearer the top. So far, The Seventh Seal, Autumn Sonata, Scenes from a Marriage and Wild Strawberries are my favorites.

Mike, no I’m not an Letterboxd yet – I have an invite but have done nothing about it yet. I can barely keep track of my day to day email and blog, but I keep hearing good things about it so will try to set it up this weekend.

Wild Strawberries is indeed great and though I like both Seventh Seal and Autumn Sonata, neither quite resonated with me to that extent. Fanny and Alexander (go with the full 5 hour version) is remarkable and Smiles Of A Summer’s Night is supremely entertaining. I still haven’t seen Scenes or the trilogy or Magic Flute or Shame, etc.

I watched the shorter version of Fanny and Alexander and while I loved the first part I did not like where it went. This happens a lot with me, I tend to like Bergman films in parts and find it hard to say whether I enjoyed the whole. The one I want to watch came out on Criterion recently called The Magician… anyone seen this?

Scenes is the absolute pinnacle of divorce stories, granted it is a mini-series so it has the time to play it out but man, fucking incredible. My favorite Bergman by a long shot.

I really do want to see Scenes – I’ve simply put it off because of its length. I’ll rectify that soon though.

As for Fanny, I initially saw the 3 hour version and felt somewhat similar to you – strong start but then flailed. Marc St. Cyr convinced me to watch the 5 hour version and I completely loved it. I’m not sure if things just fell in place better the second time around or if the additional scenes helped, but I felt much more empathy towards the family as a whole.

I’ve seen The Magician, probably the most recent Bergman I’ve watched, and yet I can remember very little about it. It simply did not cast its spell on me…

Mike, Persona is probably my favorite Bergman film. Flickchart confirms that – with The Virgin Spring (which I just watched yesterday and loved) and Smiles of a Summer Night coming in next. I’ve seen The Seventh Seal, but I don’t remember much of it. Need to rewatch before I can rank. But I like all those pretentious, experimental things that you dislike, so it makes sense that Persona would hit my sweet spot.

Andrew, it’s been a long time since I saw Intolerable Cruelty, but I remember really not liking it. Maybe that’s just in comparison with other Coen films, but I dunno… Le cercle rouge, on the other hand, is awesometastic. I’m with Bob, 5/5 stars. And yeah, Rififi is great, but to be honest, I actually think I like Le cercle rouge more. But that might just be because i saw it more recently.

Domenic, okay, you’ve convinced me…with Stanwyck (who might be my favorite classic actress) PLUS Fuller (who is amazing), I don’t know why I haven’t already watched Forty Guns, but with a 5-star review on top, I really have no excuse. Okay, I have one excuse. It isn’t on Netflix Instant. That’s a lame excuse.

This is great, I am looking for recommendations for the Bergman I should be watching, sounds like The Virgin Spring and Smiles of a Summer Night are two. I own Shame and also the Bergman’s Island Criterion documentary I want to watch because I do find Bergman pretty fascinating in his particular kind of gravitas.

Just note that Smiles of a Summer Night is basically a comedy. It’s easily one of Bergman’s most accessible films for new viewers, but if you’re already accustomed to his more serious stuff, it may seem very light and inconsequential to you. It’s almost more like an Ophuls film – comparable to La Ronde or Madame de… It’s very good, but it has little in the way of gravitas.

Virgin Spring was the first Bergman I saw (I’ve still hardly seen any, which I’m trying to remedy). I loved it, it’s sparse, bleak and beautifully done. A million a miles away from it’s ‘remake’ Last House on the Left, which I really didn’t think much of (Wes Craven version – I haven’t seen the recent remake and don’t particularly want to).

As with the rest of the civilised world I’m also Letterboxd up – but as my PC died on me recently I haven’t really had chance to get up to speed w it yet. And writing at length on my phone, like now, is awkward and annoying.

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